Emergency-exit attachment for knob-latches.



A. HOOD. EMERGENCY EXIT ATTACHMENT FOR KNOB LATGHES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.15. 1908.

Patented July 13, 1909.

jwvamtof G How 1 my O m a a o M w W Q. W

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR M. 001), INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A SS IGNOR TO VON DUPRIN runsnxrr LATCH 00.,QF INDIANAPOLIS, NDI A, A COPABTNERSHIP.

EMERGENCY-EXIT ATTACHMENT FOR KNOB-LATCHES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Application filed October 15, 1908. Serial No. 457,788.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR M. HooD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Emergency ExitAttachments for Knob-Latches, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a device which can be readilyattached to the inner face of an outwardly swinging exit door insubstitution for the ordinar and usual knob by means of which the be tof a standard and ordinary mortise knob-latch Irv-1y be withdrawn by apressure applied to the device in a direction having a component in thedirection of opening of the door.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective of a portion of a door c uipped with anordinary mortise, vestibu e, dead locking knob-latch and also equippedwith my improved attaclnnent; Fig. 2 is a side elevation in partialvertical section through the bolt-casing; 3 a horizontal section throughthe knob axis; Fig. 4 a section at right angles to Fig. 3 on line 44 ofFig. 3 Fig. 5 an elevation of the inner face of one of the brackets.

In the drawings, indicates an ordinary swinging door and 11 an ordinarymortise vestibule dead locking knob latch provided with a movable boltor latch-tongue 12 which is operable, through any suitable intermediatemechanism, by the usual knob 13 carried by the finish-plate 14 adaptedto be secured to the face of the door. In such a latch there is usuallyprovided a pair of coaxial sleeves l5 and 16 each provided with asquared hole adapted to receive the squared inner end 13 of the stem olthe knob 13. The two sleeves l5 and 16 are independently rotatable andeach adapted, by rocking in either direction, to engage a lever 17connected by any suitable connection with the bolt 12 so as to withdrawthe same. The sleeve (which is engaged by the stem of the knob on the.outer face of the door), is provided with a notch 18 into which may beprojected a finger 19, the position of which may be controlled by theusual push buttons 20 and 21, said finger 19, when projected into thenotch 18, serving to prove-"t any possible manipulation of the bolt bymeans 1 of the outer knob, but not interimingin any manner withmanipulation ol the bolt through the medium of the sleeve 16. The latch,which I have described is an ordinary standard mortise latch, and mypresent invention has nothing whatever to do with the specific detailsof construction of such a latch, such details varying to a veryconsiderable extent with the different manufacturers, but all suchlatches possess the two sleeves 15 or 16, or their mechanicalequivalents.

M attachment comprises a bar which is a( opted to lie substantiallyparallel with the inner face of the door and extends transversely acrossthe same practically its entire width. Carried by the. opposite ends ofbar 25 are transversely extending arms 26 and 27. Pivoted t0 the arm 26is a bracket 28 adapted to be secured to the inner face of the door 10,and pivoted to arm 27 is a bracket 29 also adapted to be secured to theinner face of the door 10 and, in general, of the same shape as bracket28. The arms 27 are normally urged outwardly, so as to hold bar 25 awayfrom the face of the door, by a suitable spring 31 nested in each of thebrackets 28 and 29 and engaging the adjacent arm 26 or 27. Arm 27, atits inner end, is provided with a finger 32 which extends through thebracket 29 and is formed at its inner end so as to lie between the tinesof a forked arm 33 carried by a sleeve 34 journaled upon a pin 35sccured to or formed integrally with bracket 29 in the bottom of apocket 36 prelerably formed in the'doo r-l'ace ot' the bracket 29, sothat the arm 33 will be nested within the door-face of the bracket andavoid the necessity of cutting away any portion of the face of the doorafter removal of the ordinary knob plate. Sleeve 34 projects from thedoor-lace ol' the bracket 2%) a sullicicnt distance to permit it toenter the squared hole of sleeve 16, the inner end of the sleeve 34being squared to tit the hole in sleeve 16.

The operation is as l'ollows:-Bar 25 is held normally at its mostdistant position from the nner face of the door and any pressure exertedupon this bar tending to move it toward the door, will cause arms 26 and27 to rock in their brackets thus causing finger 32 to swing the arm 33and rock sleeve 3 an amount sullicicnt to rock sleeve 16 and thus iwithdraw the bolt wln-reu mn the cloor will immediately be opened bycontinued pressure on bar 25.

) It will be noticed that my device may be. very readily attached to anexisting door of the character mentioned, it being merely necessary toremove the ordinary knob plate from the inner face of the door andsubstitute my device.

I claim as my invention:

1. As an article of manufacture, a bar adapted to extend transverselyacross the face of a door, an arm secured to each end of said bar, abracket pivotally attached to each arm and adapted to be secured to theface of the door, a spindle journaled on one of said brackets andprovided with an end projecting from the door-face of said bracket andadapted to enter an operating member of a knob-latch, and intermediateconnections between said spindle and the adjacent arm whereby atransverse movement of the arm will cause a rocking movement of thespindle.

2. As an article of manufacture, a bar adapted to extend transverselyacross the face of a door, an arm secured to each end of said bar, abracket pivotally attached to each arm and adapted to be secured to theface of the door, a spindle journaled on one of said brackets andprovided with an end projecting from the door-face of said bracket andadapted to enter an operating member of a knob-latch, a lever carried bysaid spindle, and a nigger carried by the adjacent arm and adapted toengage said lever to rock the same by a rocking movement of the arm.

ble of operation by the usual knob spindle, of

a pair of brackets mounted on the inner face of the door, an arm pivotedon each bracket,

' a bar connecting the outer ends of said arms and lying substantiallyparallel with the door and transversely thereof, and intermediateconnections between one of said arms and the rotary operating member ofthe latch.

4. The combination, with a door, and a mortise knob-latch mountedtherein, of a pair of brackets mounted in the inner face of the door, anarm pivoted in each bracket, a bar connecting the outer ends of saidarms and lying substantially parallel with the door and transverselthereof, a pin projecting in- Wardly from tie door-face of oneof saidbrackets, a sleeve journaled on said pin and adapted to engage a rockingbolt-operating member of the latch, an arm carried by said sleeve, and afinger carried by one of said arms and engaging said sleeve-arm.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal atIndianapolis, Indiana, this 10th day of October, A. 1). one thousandnine hundred and eight.

ARTHUR M. HOOD.

Witnesses:

CARL J. PRINZLER, THOMAS W. McMEANs.

